ENHG Lecture: Using Genetics as a Tool: What Genes Can Tell Us about the Fitness and Population Trends of Wild Dolphins

Please join us on February 11 for our next lecture, which is kindly hosted by Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas. 

About the talk:

Genetic diversity is crucial for animals to adapt to a changing environment. However, not all genetic diversity is important. In order to identify the specific genetic variants that are necessary for animals to adapt and to survive, it is important to focus on genes that are associated with ecologically important traits.

This presentation will focus on bottlenose dolphins off Western Australia, where Dr. Manlik and his colleagues identified genetic variants that appear to be crucial for fitness. For example, offspring produced by mothers who possessed certain genetic variants had a much greater chance of survival,  and those variants also appeared to be more common in stable populations. This discovery could offer a more reliable indicator for fitness and population viability of dolphins and possibly other vertebrates.

About the Speaker: Dr. Oliver Manlik is an Assistant Professor of molecular ecology in the Biology Department at UAEU. His primary research interest is in evolutionary ecology, population and conservation genetics. He also has a keen interest in the ecological and evolutionary forces that maintain or erode biodiversity. Current research projects include population genomic studies on local wildlife populations, including Socotra cormorants. Other research in Dr. Manlik's lab centers on population modeling and forecasting. Dr. Manlik obtained his PhD from the University of New South Wales in Australia in 2016. He was a cofounder and past president of the Sydney Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) and is currently associate editor of the journal Ecology and Evolution, and also holds an adjunct appointment as Conjoint Associate Lecturer at the University of New South Wales (http://www.bees.unsw.edu.au/oliver-manlik).

Photo: Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) mother and calf in Shark Bay, Western Australia.

Photo credit: Madison Miketa